Good Luck Charms of Edo

“To prevent big earthquakes”

That earthquakes are caused by a moving catfish had become a popular belief by the mid Edo period. After the Great Ansei Earthquake that ravaged Edo in 1855, many namazu-e (woodblock prints of catfish) were produced. To prevent earthquakes, you need to keep pressure on the fish to keep it from moving, just as the kappa, an imaginary mischievous Japanese water sprite, shown here are doing.